Contents -- Foreword by Padmal de Silva -- Foreword to the first edition by Professor Hans J Eysenck -- Preface -- Preface to the first edition -- 1 Home in Histon -- 2 Leaving school -- 3 Student life -- 4 Denmark - almost heaven -- 5 Signs of trouble ahead -- 6 Decline -- 7 Getting back to normal -- 8 Misplaced complacency -- 9 Never get complacent -- 10 Going public -- 11 The nature of the problem -- Linking the experience to gaining understanding -- Suppose that I believe it makes good sense? -- Obsessions and compulsive behaviour -- Neutralising thoughts -- Content of obsessional thoughts -- The nature of the thoughts -- Is onset associated with a particular event? -- Age of onset -- Nature and nurture -- How many people have the disorder? -- What is and is not an obsessional disorder -- Exactly what is obsessional disorder? -- 12 Overlap and confusion with other conditions -- Rituals and premonitions -- Morbid preoccupations -- Psychotic disorder - am I going mad? -- Phobias -- Tourette's syndrome -- Anorexia nervosa and body appearance -- Depression -- Appetitive urges -- 13 Who develops the disorder, what is it like for them? -- Are they male or female? -- Comparing different societies -- What is obsessional personality? - a problem -- What characteristics comprise the obsessional personality? -- Obsessional disorder, crime and the law -- Marriage and the family context -- Some disorders associated with the obsessional personality -- Obsessionals and the Puritan personality -- The obsessional personality, creativity and the famous -- Coping with an obsessional person as a partner -- Summary -- 14 Professional help -- Behaviour therapy -- Paradoxical intention -- Cognitive therapy -- Behaviour therapy and cognitive therapy compared -- Some other ways of treating obsessions without compulsive behaviour -- Drugs -- Electroconvulsive therapy.

Psychosurgery -- Final word -- 15 Self-help - what to do and what not to do -- Self-applied behaviour therapy -- Keeping busy -- Brain lock -- Checking -- Exercise,getting out and keeping busy -- The company of others -- Prayer and religion -- Buddhism and self-help -- Effects of alcohol and drugs -- Alternative/complementary medicine and techniques -- Prevention and some warning signs -- Jobs and career guidance -- What can a partner or friend do to help? -- 16 Trying to solve the puzzle -- Is OCD an illness? -- Animals under stress - a suitable model? -- Does obsessional disorder serve a purpose? -- Conditioning -- Mood state -- Stress -- Is my brain malfunctioning or damaged? -- Conscious and unconscious processing -- A feedback explanation of obsessional disorder? -- Obsessions without compulsive behaviour -- Obsessional thoughts and compulsive behaviour -- Creativity -- 17 Some famous thoughts -- Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) -- George Henry Borrow (1803-1881) -- Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) -- Charles Darwin (1809-1882) -- Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) -- Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) -- Howard Hughes (1905-1976) -- Kurt Gödel (1906-1978) -- Glenn Gould (1932-1982) -- Woody Allen (1935-) -- Brian Wilson (1942-) -- Karen Carpenter (1950-1983) -- 18 Conclusion -- Brain function -- Perfectionism -- Goal-directed behaviour -- Control -- Differences between obsessionals -- F.T.'s personal views -- Glossary -- Resources -- Index.